Embracing the Gift

Psychic. What an intense word.

It can be an intimidating word to many of us who want to be more open and honest about our spiritual selves. When we're honest, we're being more vulnerable about ourselves—and couple that with a term that many fear and don't understand—coming out of the psychic closet can be scary!

In March of 2016 I came out of the psychic closet. It was very hard for me to finally admit I was psychic, but I always knew I was intuitive. Though, a psychic is just an intuitive embracing their gifts. Ever since I was a child I was aware I was empathic. Growing up, I used to be told I was "wise" for my age and an "old soul". I was an odd kid and kept mostly to myself because people were generally intense and draining. I always knew how my mother was feeling, and had prophetic dreams. I could feel the energy in a room, and could tell if a person was good or bad just by looking at them. I knew I had inherited these gifts from my mother's side of the family because mom told me she had been empathic too.

A ‘psychic’ is just an intuitive embracing their gifts.

— Me

It wasn't until a traumatic experience I had as a teenager that my gifts began to heighten and intensify to the point that I couldn't ignore them. I began to sense energy more and couldn't explain the voices I was hearing in my head. I was convinced I wasn't crazy, and that there was some sort of explanation for it. I could not find answers I needed in science or religion, so in order to find a reason for the things I was experiencing, I began to research more on the topic of spiritualism. From there I connected with people that started me down this spiritual path. However, it wasn't until decades later that I finally acknowledge my gifts were in fact, psychic.

Stepping Out

When most people come out of the psychic closet, they don't do it to impress others or show off how special they are—they do it to allow their authentic selves to shine. Being more open about your spirituality is being more honest with yourself about who you are, and brings more respect (from your conscious self) to your craft because you are openly embracing it, versus hiding it out of fear of ridicule. Embracing your gifts releases that fear energy that will hold you back and allows you to shine brightly so you can help more people in the world.

So repeat after me: "I AM PSYCHIC!!!!!"

The Pushback

There will always be pushback. It's just a fact of life—and not just with coming out of the psychic closet, either. Pushback happens whenever we expose ourselves to become more authentic in any way. We're going to get pushback from those who are not comfortable with that part of themselves, and they will naturally project this insecurity onto you.

The fear of ridicule from my friends was what kept me from becoming openly psychic for the longest time. I had a lot of friends that were conservative Christians that were not as open to spiritualism as I was. I was worried my friends wouldn't want to talk to me anymore or start a confrontation. A few did unfriend me, and I had one or two people message me about it accusing me of witchcraft—but you want to know what I did? I meditated, I prayed and replied with love and light in my heart. I explained to them that what I did was not witchcraft, that I valued their friendship, and that we will just have to agree to disagree. No arguing. Simply understanding. The mature friends I had understood, and we respect each other's boundaries. For the immature friends, however, this was a great opportunity to distance myself from people that expected me to fit into their ideal of who they think I should be.

In the end, we can't please everyone. We're not pizza. As adults, we must be capable of tolerating each other's differences. If your friends aren't mature enough to respect your differences—and boundaries—how can you trust them as friends? Likewise with family. Set boundaries with the people that disagree with you, and in turn, respect the boundaries of others. If you truly wish to be respected, you must respect yourself. You'll begin to find very quickly the friends and family you can speak about your spiritualism to, versus the ones who are not as open to it.

On the same token, because many of my Christian friends aren't comfortable with what I do, I don't force the subject on them. They are fully aware of what I do, and I don't hide it. I am candid with them if they're interested in learning more, but I won't force a subject on them because I respect their boundaries. I don't rub it in their face because I care about our friendship—and feel that I can be a shining example of what I am by being loving and respectful. Being open about your gifts in a temperance of sorts—finding the right balance between being authentic, and respecting other people's boundaries.

Fear Itself

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fear only begets more fear. Refraining from coming out of the psychic closet out of fear for one reason or another can greatly inhibit your spiritual growth. Fear is a powerful and negative energy, and if we allow it to be a motivator in our lives, it has a negative way of blocking us as spiritual beings.

As a full-time graphic designer, I was afraid for the longest time that my co-workers would find out I was intuitive. I was afraid of being labeled a "weirdo" and ostracized—or worse, fired. I took reiki classes and did tarot readings on the side, so I was fearful of what my workplace thought. Then one day, I became fed up with this fear. I was almost disgusted with myself for inhibiting the growth of my spiritual craft because of what I had imagined others would think. One day, I decided to add my psychic abilities to my website and came out of the psychic closet to my husband and some close friends.

Do you know what happened? Practically nothing. As I said earlier, I got some pushback from a friend or two, but that was it. Some of my co-workers (naturally) eventually found out, but it was no big deal because I didn't make it a big deal. The energy you project is the energy you manifest.

We are no longer living in the 1600's, and burning people at the stake in the U.S. is fortunately considered a "taboo". Additionally, firing someone due to their spiritual beliefs (and believe it or not, Spiritualism is an actual religion) is grounds for a lawsuit. So, don't be afraid of persecution for your beliefs. Does this mean you should parade your gifts around to your co-workers and shout out to the world that you're psychic? I'll let you make that call. What I am saying, however, is don't live in fear, because that's a low-vibrating energy that you're manifesting. If you live in faith and peace, you manifest a more positive reality. So stop being afraid of what others will do/say/think!

Love your gifts. Don't conceal. FEEL!

Love Your Gifts

For some people, this comes naturally when they learn to embrace their psychic gifts. With others, myself included, this was a much harder lesson to learn. For the longest time, I was afraid of my gifts. I grew up in a strict religious household thinking mediums, psychics, pagans, etc., were all bad. Even after I started learning tarot and did psychic readings, I was afraid of mediumship. I thought it was dangerous and bad. And yet, I started sensing people who've crossed over more and more. I started hearing voices more and more. It finally came to a point where I knew I needed to discipline my gifts—not run from them (I've watched enough Frozen to know how that works out—ha!). That is when I decided to take Carl Woodall's psychic development class. Taking his classes taught me how to embrace my mediumship gifts and see how there is absolutely nothing to fear at all when it comes to psychic gifts. I quickly learned that mediumship isn't evil or scary—and that I'm always in control.

You see, when you become a psychic and use your gifts for God, and to connect others with God and their God-given intuition, you are doing God's will. You are not only going in the right direction, but you are healing others. If your heart is aligned to this intent, then you can't "mess up". The only time when we "mess up" is when we say and do things from an ego-based standpoint. When you humble yourself and step out of the way, let God does the talking and the energy of your actions vibrates at a higher level.

Where to Start?

When coming out of the psychic closet, start with telling the people who will support you the most. Hopefully, that will also be the people closest to you—if not, that's OK! Telling people that will support you builds confidence so you can muster up the courage to let others know. Also, you don't have to tell everyone—only those you feel the need to tell.

As you become more comfortable with embracing this aspect of yourself, join a support group. Find like-minded spiritual individuals and maybe even see if someone locally is hosting a psychic fair. Growing spiritually requires practice, meditation, and discipline. Don't be afraid to start expressing yourself more spiritually—as long as it's honest and from the heart. Sharing your spiritually-based thoughts and feelings is a way to be authentic.

Lastly, gaining confidence in your intuitive gifts includes having self-respect. Don't discount or sell yourself short. Look at how other beginner psychics with a similar experience range charge (when you're first starting out) and go from there. As you gain experience, throw the comparisons out the window. The energy of the inflow from the readings will let you know when it's time to increase your prices. You'll just know. And even though it's hard coming from a designer with marketing experience, base the actions of your business on the energy flowing from it. I myself used to think that was a load of you-know-what, but as I did more and more readings for business owners, I found that the energy they emanated had everything to do with the successes they manifested within their own businesses.

So go forth with confidence in yourself as a psychic to help bring this world into th light!